The Best Flooring for Your Bathroom
Choosing the best flooring for any room in your home can be overwhelming if you don’t have professional help. Most homeowners focus on finding an attractive material that suits their style but there is more to it than design taste. This is especially true for the bathroom because, on top of choosing the floor based on appearance, you need to worry about waterproofing and durability. You need to consider how your bathroom flooring material will perform under stress, water, and moisture to make sure you are making the right investment for your home. Here are the best bathroom flooring options you should focus on when visualizing and designing your next bathroom renovation.
#1: Porcelain or Ceramic Tile
These two options, particularly the porcelain, are the most popular flooring choices for bathrooms because of their waterproof, cost-effective, and stylish nature. Porcelain is part of the general ceramic tile family, but it has a low water absorption rate and is extremely waterproof. There are so many different styles, sizes, shapes, and colours to choose from that you can mimic the look of other materials and truly create the exact floor you want. Although usually cold to the touch, this can be solved with radiant underfloor heating which porcelain and ceramic are the most popular options. These materials are also easy to clean and are so durable that they can resist even standing pools of water.
#2: Natural Stone
This option is less affordable than ceramic, but it is super on-trend right now. Natural stone is attractive, durable, and adds an air of luxury to any space. Since this material is less durable than others, you should keep in mind that you will have to reseal certain softer stones (like travertine and limestone) every couple of years. Harder stones (like marble or granite) can last longer and only need to be resealed roughly every five years to ensure they remain water-resistant. If you don’t mind this maintenance work, natural stone looks luxurious and can add to the resale value of your home.
#3: Vinyl
Vinyl has been a popular choice for bathroom flooring for decades because of its look and practicality. We recommend going for sheet vinyl in areas you expect to use a lot of water and in the spots where you want very few seams to show. Plank or tile vinyl are also both increasing in popularity and can make your bathroom look luxurious without sacrificing any practicality. Because vinyl has become so popular, it comes in a huge variety of styles and designs for you to choose from – there really is a vinyl flooring for every design taste out there.
#4: Laminate
A lot of people think solid hardwood is the better option, but laminate is actually the way to go for your bathrooms. Remember that laminate is essentially a paper photograph of wood or stone styles placed on top of a wood chip base that is then covered with a clear coat. You can mimic a wide variety of woods and stones including oak, cherry, slate, and marbles but you must take precautions to protect the wood base from moisture damage. If the wood chip base comes into contact with moisture it will expand and bubble to the point of necessary replacement.
#5: Engineered Wood
If you love the wooden floor look, then we recommend engineered wood over solid wood. We never recommend solid hardwood for any of our clients’ bathrooms because it is extremely sensitive to moisture and will eventually rot away. Engineered wood, on the other hand, is more dimensionally stable under high moisture conditions and has a plywood base that can hold up well against any moisture. Since the top layer is real hardwood veneer, this flooring option is great for mimicking the look of authentic wood floors without sacrificing durability.
#6: Concrete
This is your option if you want bathroom flooring that will last a lifetime and not be impacted by water damage. Concrete flooring is common in homes with slab foundations, but you can also pour a concrete slab or overlay in your bathroom. Concrete flooring is one of the most cost-effective flooring options, but you want to make sure you leave some sort of texture to the material so that it does not become a slippery falling hazard. Don’t picture concrete flooring as a boring grey slab poured on your floor – it can also be dyed, polished, stamped, or painted to mimic other materials and match your design taste.
#7: Cork
If you are more concerned about sustainability when it comes to your home and flooring, then cork is the way to go for your bathrooms. This option is waterproof and comfortable to walk on. Cork flooring is also naturally textured so it makes the perfect non-slip or skid material. We recommend protecting your cork flooring from moisture by resealing it every couple of years. Similar to natural wood, cork can feature interesting and beautiful grains that make your bathroom flooring feel more unique.
Trust CHART with Your Flooring Needs!
We hope this blog helps guide how you will go about picking the best bathroom flooring material for your home and needs! Here at CHART, our team will always walk you through all of your options and suggest flooring recommendations based on our expertise. You can trust CHART to keep your best interests in mind and always suggest materials that will last in your home. Whether you’re at the very beginning concept phase or already have some designs in mind, we’re here to get the job done for you with top-notch quality and craftsmanship. When beginning your home renovation projects, trust the Canadian Home and Renovation Team to make the right choices and help guide you through the process.
CHART is proud to be celebrating 40 years as one of the most prestigious renovators in the Kitchener, Waterloo, Cambridge and Guelph area. Contact us to begin preparing your home for renovations, home addition, or to get your custom home project started!
